National Mortgage Professional Magazine recently sat down with Tim Anderson, Director of eServices at DocMagic, to gain insight and trending into the mortgage industry’s current progress and needs to achieve a completely paperless lending transaction. Tim is a subject matter expert in end-to-end digital mortgage processes, electronic compliance and supporting eServices, among an array of other mortgage technologies. He has more than 30 years of industry experience working on both the lender and vendor side of the business.

NMP: Lots of attention has been placed on the importance of digital mortgages as of late, in particular in the last 18 months. Why the sudden rush?

By Tim Anderson

Today, digital technology is driving more of the loan transaction away from paper to online. The industry is realizing that it’s time to get the paper out of our systems and manual processes. Paper documents take more time to process, require more people to validate, and key information from and follow-up efforts to track down missing pages, signatures, or total file loss.

For example, delivering a correct closing disclosure (CD) to the borrower three days before closing highlights just how difficult it is to get everything right and on time in a paper world.

By Tim Anderson

For years a core group of us has been telling the industry that it’s time to get the paper out of our systems. We’ve performed studies that show paper is more expensive, that it takes more time to process, is usually missing pages or signatures, or gets lost. It took the foreclosure crisis to really bring home to the industry the negative implications of lost or incomplete documents. After billions of dollars in settlements to federal regulators and attorneys, it looks like our industry is finally ready to say goodbye to paper forever, or at least a majority of it.

After lenders and their technology providers spent much of 2015 implementing the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosures, forthcoming compliance audits and a government-sponsored enterpriseplan to start collecting data from the new forms will tell if those efforts truly paid off.

Lenders are also looking ahead at other technology initiatives to bolster their competitive advantage at a time when more purchase originations are expected to take a larger share of overall mortgage lending.

"TRID was like the story of the century because it had such an impact on technology, process and regulatory compliance. The story in 2016 will be auditing that compliance," said Tim Anderson, director of eServices at Torrance, Calif.-based document technology provider DocMagic.

Press Release:
They did it with an FHA hybrid eClosing earlier this year. This time, they tackle a VA loan.

TORRANCE, Calif.-September 2, 2014- DocMagic, Inc., the leading provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance, eSign and eDelivery solutions for the mortgage industry, is proud to announce that the firm has partnered again with Mountain America Credit Union to provide a paperless loan closing, this time for a loan insured by the Veteran's Administration. To the company's knowledge, this is one of the first VA loans that have been closed electronically since the VA made the announcement that it would begin accepting eSigned loan documents late last year.

"Mountain America Credit Union is committed to serving the men and women of the armed forces -- both those currently serving and our veterans -- by offering VA loans in a paperless environment," said Amy Moser, Vice President and Mortgage Services Manager for the Utah-based credit union. "Until now, few institutions could serve our military personnel effectively, especially those serving overseas. This loan closing proves that we can accommodate the needs of our armed forces personnel and veterans no matter where in the world they may be."

Press Release:
DocMagic participates in offering industry platform to support paperless lending

TORRANCE, Calif.-August 21, 2014-DocMagic, Inc., the leading provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation, compliance, eSign and eDelivery solutions for the mortgage industry, announced today that its strategic alliance with Pavaso will be expanded to allow the two firms to serve Franklin First Financial, Melville, New York, in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's eClosing pilot program.

"Lenders are now ready for a completely paperless loan closing process," said Dominic Iannitti, President and CEO of DocMagic. "Digital Close from Pavaso is designed to be a neutral technology platform that seamlessly integrates with other systems. That, along with DocMagic's eSign, eVault and eDelivery offerings, provides a fully supported, shrink-wrapped solution for anyone to do an eClosing. This partnership will show the industry and the CFPB that any lender can make the closing process better for consumers through the use of a completely electronic process without incurring the time and cost of creating or maintaining their own systems."

For many, it wasn't that long ago that paperless lending was just a dream or maybe even a fantasy. DocMagic has made this dream a reality.

What are the benefits to going electronic?

In this edition of the DocMagic Moment, Ron talks about taking the paper out of the mortgage process. He'll discuss the benefits of going electronic and how it can improve the borrower experience along with saving you time and money.

Listen Now: [audio www.docmagic.com/media/download/podcasts/2013/DocMagic-2013wk29.mp3]

By Tim Anderson
If you’re looking to go electronic, starting with a point solution only works with a good road map. Here’s why:

For years a core group of us has been telling the industry that it’s time to get the paper out of our systems. We’ve performed studies that show paper is more expensive, that it takes more time to process, is usually missing pages or signatures, or gets lost. It took the foreclosure crisis to really bring home to the industry the negative implications of lost or incomplete documents. After billions of dollars in settlements to federal regulators and attorneys general, it looks like our industry is finally ready to say goodbye to paper forever, or at least a majority of it.

Anyone who has yet to be convinced will get all the persuasion they need when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau implements the Three Business Day Rule for mortgage loan closings. When lenders and their closing agents are forced to deliver a correct settlement statement to the borrower three days before closing, they’ll learn just how difficult it will be to get everything right and on time in a paper world. Taking their businesses fully electronic will be the only way to ensure compliance.

By Dominic Iannitti, President and CEO, DocMagic, Inc.

It was Leonardo da Vinci who said, “Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.” When it comes to facing hurdles, those of us working to remove paper from the mortgage process can certainly relate to one of history’s greatest innovators, a man who dreamed of helicopters and solar power centuries before they would become reality. Then again, in the 10-plus years since federal e-signature legislation was signed into law, it occasionally feels as though the e-mortgage is also centuries away from becoming a reality.

A big reason for this is the collapse of the housing market, which led to increased regulations and tighter investor guidelines that have drawn out the time it takes to originate loans.